Local Search is sometimes under valued, not known and often times confusing to merchants. As search marketers we tend to believe that everyone is as knowledgeable as we are. I was stunned as I was thrust back into the world of Local businesses where I started my advertising career as a radio sales guy. The local advertisers were asking about Facebook and had really no idea about local search, geo-targeting or even what the Google one box is.
So I was sitting with a client trying to explain that Search is more than just organic and PPC. The Analogy I came up with.....It's "Octo-mom Search Style". Here's why I say that. that are eight core items to search as a Merchant client may see it.
1) SEOcto-mization - Getting listed in the organic ranking is crucial especially in these economic times - so free is preferred and they are willing to pay more to have a site optimized . Although results from SEO have been pushed lower because of the One Box.
2) PPC - The concept is familiar to buisnesses now as compared to early 2000. Although back in 2003 these merchants would have done gangbusters if they would have done their homework. I have found that there are so many companies managing client campaigns and client have no idea what a conversion rate is.
3) "Octo-mized" Landing Paging - Quality Score is key. many businesses are not aware fo QS. Try telling that to a dealer that wants to scare all of their customers away by putting Flash driven content all over their site .
4) Geo-targeting the PPC campaign is crucial to a business that knows where their customers are located. If they are an established business then they know where the customers are coming from. The key is to drive that customer base into the store and people are saving gas and finding merchants close. In true Octo-mom Search Style world you need to keep your kids close and hopefully not lose them.
5) Octo Ad-testing. It's so important to test out ad-groups and campaigns. Octo-mom changes it up with some crazy coming out party, so why won't the client change ad copy? I guess they're use to having bad ads all year long in the Yellow Pages - so why change?
6) Video - Video - Video. Now that bandwidth is scaling get your story out there and sell the rights. Sure you didn't think it through and protect yourself and now you have lots of inventory "Octo-mom Style." Tell the world and cash in with uploading your Video on You tube, AOL and the other free Video sites. (Be sure to Octo-mize those videos)
7) Local Search Listings - by getting accurate information to all of the directories it helps drive additional traffic and crucial backlinks to your site. If you have eight locations (kids like your kids) and all have different attributes, you don't put all eight in the same outfit? Show off each child for what they have to offer, besides a spot on Oprah.
8) Finally - don't call my kids ugly! So instead of allowing that one nay-sayer customer to complain or put up a bad review. Beat them to the punch, ask your customers for a good review on the engines. This will go a long way and can have impact on conversion and perception. Be proactive with your reviews.
Now Social networking that's a whole subject onto itself - let's just say that's true "Octo-Mom Search Style." She in serious need an anti-social network.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
getlisted.org
I actually was hesitant linking to this site because I didn't feel that getlisted.org was working to it's expectations. I feel it's a great tool and concept but also believe that it's not working to it's full capacity.
If someone wants to see and score how their website listing is coming up in Google Local, BOTWL, Yahoo, and MSN you can use this tool. Be cautious though. I searched for my favorite pizza joint, Atlantis Pizza in Alexandria and found that it is misleading at least for the Yahoo Local portion.
The listing score says zero - I spoke to the owner and yes the Google portion is correct. He never answered and verified the listing when Google sent their postcard after his business was submitted.
Yahoo however is listed
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&p=atlantis+pizza+alexandria&rs=0&fr2=rs-top
They actually have reviews and photos listed as well. This is a conflicting result from the data on Getlisted.org
The search option also can be confusing. If someone starts their search by putting in address and their zip code - it should display the business. Problem is what if there are multiple businesses at that address. There should be a little more upfront to ensure the listing you are clarifying is the exact listing you are presented.
All in All - great concept and the execution needs works. I hope it has some staying power and grows the list of local providers.
If someone wants to see and score how their website listing is coming up in Google Local, BOTWL, Yahoo, and MSN you can use this tool. Be cautious though. I searched for my favorite pizza joint, Atlantis Pizza in Alexandria and found that it is misleading at least for the Yahoo Local portion.
The listing score says zero - I spoke to the owner and yes the Google portion is correct. He never answered and verified the listing when Google sent their postcard after his business was submitted.
Yahoo however is listed
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&p=atlantis+pizza+alexandria&rs=0&fr2=rs-top
They actually have reviews and photos listed as well. This is a conflicting result from the data on Getlisted.org
The search option also can be confusing. If someone starts their search by putting in address and their zip code - it should display the business. Problem is what if there are multiple businesses at that address. There should be a little more upfront to ensure the listing you are clarifying is the exact listing you are presented.
All in All - great concept and the execution needs works. I hope it has some staying power and grows the list of local providers.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Local Search Marketing
As search engines attempt to collect and distribute the world’s data, local listings are becoming more prevalent in search results. Searchers seeking local products and services will often find local business listings at the top of their search engine result pages. In addition, the major search engines are now offer a local component – Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Live Search local and AskCity, for example.
The information posted in these areas is typically collected from a variety of third party resources, but merchants also have the option of feeding store locations to the engines themselves. This is a major step towards the evolution of local search. Third party data is limited to business name, location and phone number. Engines that accept merchant supplied data allow additional attributes like business description, service categories, and brands sold, hours of operations, parking options, etc.. These additional attributes increase the chances for a merchant’s business listing to appear under a wider range of relevant search queries.
It is our job as search marketers to make sure businesses are listed properly and the engines are getting the right data. In the blog posts that follow, I will delve into the important aspects of Local Search and how business - can drive more business without having to spend a your entire marketing budget on improving your search listings.
More to come.
The information posted in these areas is typically collected from a variety of third party resources, but merchants also have the option of feeding store locations to the engines themselves. This is a major step towards the evolution of local search. Third party data is limited to business name, location and phone number. Engines that accept merchant supplied data allow additional attributes like business description, service categories, and brands sold, hours of operations, parking options, etc.. These additional attributes increase the chances for a merchant’s business listing to appear under a wider range of relevant search queries.
It is our job as search marketers to make sure businesses are listed properly and the engines are getting the right data. In the blog posts that follow, I will delve into the important aspects of Local Search and how business - can drive more business without having to spend a your entire marketing budget on improving your search listings.
More to come.
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